Located at the western edge of Brisbane’s northern suburban corridor, Dickson is one of six seats which have been created to deal with Queensland’s population boom since the expansion of parliament in 1984. From south to north, it presently encompasses the marginal hills district suburbs of Ferny Hills, Arana Hills and Everton Hills; a strongly conservative area around Pine River including Albany Creek and Eatons Hill; and Labor-leaning suburbs along Gympie Road and the Caboolture rail line including Strathpine, Bray Park, Lawnton and Petrie (that latter being confusingly located outside the electorate that bears its name). It also extends westwards beyond the metropolitan area to Lake Samsonvale and the interior edge of the D’Aguilar Range, including the townships of Dayboro and Samford. The populous part of the electorate had hitherto been accommodate mostly by Fisher after 1984, Petrie after 1949, and Lilley beforehand.
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| Teal and red numbers respectively indicate size of two-party majorities for the LNP and Labor. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room. |
Dickson was won for Labor on its creation in 1993 by Michael Lavarch, who had previously been the member for Fisher. Lavarch went on to serve as Attorney-General in the second term of the Keating government, before becoming one of its highest profile casualties of the 1996 election. The Liberal candidate who defeated him was Tony Smith (not to be confused with the current member for Casey in Melbourne), whose career imploded when he was questioned by police after being seen leaving a building that housed a brothel. Smith forestalled preselection defeat by quitting the Liberal Party and declaring his intention to run as an independent, which he did with little success. By this time it had emerged that the Labor candidate for the 1998 election would be defecting Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot, who had announced her determination to win a marginal seat for Labor. At first it appeared that her bid had failed, prompting her to lash out on election night at an ALP network that had deprived her campaign of resources. She would in fact go on to win the seat by a margin of 276 votes, but her career as a Labor MP was limited to a single disastrous term, after which she was unseated by a 6.1% swing at the 2001 election.
The new Liberal member was Peter Dutton, owner of a Brisbane child care centre who had earlier worked for the National Crime Authority, the Queensland Police sex offender squad and the Department of Corrective Services. Dutton consolidated his hold on the seat with a 1.8% swing in 2004 and was subsequently admitted to the outer ministry as Workforce Participation Minister, going on to a minor promotion to Revenue Minister and Assistant Treasurer in January 2006. After surviving the heavy statewide swing to Labor at the 2007 election by a margin of 217 votes, Dutton was promoted to shadow cabinet in the finance, competition policy and deregulation portfolios, and then to health and ageing after he backed Malcolm Turbull’s successful leadership challenge against Brendan Nelson in September 2008.
Dutton’s career hit a speed bump when the redistribution ahead of the 2010 election saw Dickson exchange upper Brisbane River valley territory for suburban areas around Murrumba Downs, making it a notionally Labor seat at a time when few foresaw the problems that would engulf the government at the end of its term. Dutton believed he saw a lifeline in Margaret May’s retirement as member for the safe Gold Coast seat of McPherson, for which he nominated for preselection. However, well-organised locals had long had their eyes on the succession and were not of a mind to accommodate Dutton, being readily able to draw on the argument that he would serve his party better by fighting for his crucial marginal seat. Dutton unwisely sought to raise the stakes by declaring he would not fall back on Dickson if thwarted in McPherson, evidently hoping preselectors would baulk at the prospect of depriving the party of his services. Despite backing from Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard, this proved to be a miscalculation: the local preselection vote was won by local favourite Karen Andrews, with Dutton reportedly meeting opposition in the branches of the newly merged Liberal National Party from those who had formerly been with the Nationals.
After alternative options failed to emerge, Dutton went back on his word and ran again in Dickson. However, such was the statewide backlash against Labor after the dumping of Kevin Rudd that he went untroubled, his 5.9% swing being well in line with the state average and enough to secure him a margin of 5.1%. Dickson again closely matched the state trend in recording a further 1.8% swing to the LNP in 2013, putting Dutton’s present margin at 6.7%. Dutton meanwhile has maintained the health portfolio since September 2008, serving as Minister for Health and Minister for Sport since the election of the Abbott government in September 2013.
[Are you able to tell me why Fraudband apparently hasn’t been introduced yet. Is it that wrecker Abbott needs to get legislation through the parliament to do it? (and if so does does that mean Fraudband can be blocked in the Senate)?]
Possible that Turnbull is deliberately delaying the Abbott version as long as possible to maximise the chance that Mr A gets the boot in the meantime and we can go for a much better version, even if not Labor’s full FTTP version.
Also possible that Mr T is making sure enough FTTP gets rolled out so that everybody who doesn’t get it will get to see it in action at a friend’s / brother in law’s / neighbour’s house. Envy will drive pressure on government to complete the job.
Whatever my beef with Mr T, he is no fool, and I have no doubt he knows the comparative value of two versions (Abbott versus FTTP). He did invest in FTTP in other countries.
PeeBee@797
Much as I hate to admit it, that debacle was started under the Hawke/Keating Govt. It was an appalling and disgracefully wasteful duplication of infrastructure.
NBN if properly implemented will remedy this and should remain as a public monopoly providing a wholesale service on an equal basis to all comers.
PeeBee.
Please note that I did qualify on Lambie.
Just that I enjoy her Lashing of the Liars.
In cute parallel with the populism the Liars are ineptly attempting. Not that I think Lambie is ‘cute’, by any means.
Neither is Cliev.
How any of that translates to my hopes and dreams is likely a forlorn landscape. Probably against just about anything I believe in.
Whatever. Lambie is against carbon tax. Would she have a clue about, say, FTTP? Actually, she may. Should she acquaint herself with such things. As a military type, it may be that she would interest herself in advanced forms of communication.
Tassies are after all, rather let down over that issue.
PeeBee@800
I have an Optus bundle which gives me an insane 500gig a month plus unlimited phone calls within Australia. I think it costs $105.
Apart from occasional outages I am reasonably happy.
PeeBee.
I have advantaged myself and friends by dint of threat.
Compare newbie offers from Telstra with whatever you are paying them.
Threaten to cancel unless they match new lowest price.
It works.
Eric Abetz is just the man to lead the government in the Senate
and as for those unworthy slights on Erica’s Nazi relatives, he hits them out of the park with this comment
[Senator Abetz, the deputy Liberal leader in the Senate, last night volunteered that his great uncle Otto Abetz had been a high-ranking Nazi as he sought to head off what he said was a slur by association.
He confirmed that Otto Abetz was Nazi ambassador to occupied France, where he is believed to have ordered anti-Jewish drives and adopted a style that earned him the nickname King Otto I.
Senator Abetz said he was confirming the connection because some newspapers would today be carrying the story, which he suggested most Australians would find distasteful muck-raking. “Can I say that he died the same year I was born? I never met the man,” Mr Abetz said.
“I think most reasonable Australians would regard any attempt to slur me by association with such a distant relative as completely unfair and, if I might say so, un-Australian.”]
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/senators-uncle-otto-was-nazi-criminal/2008/03/01/1204402254993.html
It looks as if “Fraudband” is going to be forgotten; perhaps a flat or two with lots of pictures; where FTTP is too hard; and FTTP is going to be rolled out at a more measured pace.
Turnbull is doing what Liberal governments have traditionally done, implemented Labor policy in a more measured way. It’s only Abbott and his mad mates that want to take us back to pre Menzies; back when there was a conservative party in Australia.
Nice piece by ex-Gillard adviser Sean Kelly. He argues that the relaxed and comfortable years of JWH is what people wanted, and are not getting under the Lying Friar and his Band of Buffoons.
[The public expects governments to govern. Excuses don’t work. That’s why Howard ultimately accepted the Democrats’ revisions to his GST and why Kevin Rudd, and not the Greens or the Liberal Party, ultimately suffered for failing to deliver on his emissions trading scheme.
If Palmer repeats this week’s performance there will be no problem. Acquiescence laced with circus trickery is still acquiescence. But if Palmer and the independent Senators combine to frustrate large swathes of the government’s agenda, it will hurt the Prime Minister’s credibility.
This is the real problem for the Coalition. An unremittingly hostile Senate could add significant weight to the current impression that this government is just a continuation of the previous two terms of Labor government, not in content but in tone: the appearance of chaos, unforced errors, and unpredictability.
That is exactly the opposite of the contract for grown-up government Tony Abbott struck with voters at the last election.
And as Abbott knows better than anyone, governments that don’t keep their word often end up paying a very high political price.]
http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2014/07/06/senate-government-abbott/.U7ku2314xC8.twitter
Howardia “relaxed and comfortable” is precisely what Abbott promised pre election even when it was clear time had clearly marched on on that front and it wouldn’t be achievable regardless of how many Howard era ministers he was able to parade about on his stunts.
CTari/Poroti and other
RE SUEZ CRISIS_________
I think the best thing I have read is “Warriors at Suez” by Donald Neff
A US historian , he looks at the role of Eisenhour in the unfolding crisis of 1956…and Eisenhour emerges as a rather commendable figure,by his honesty and restraint
He was angry at the collusion of France the UK, and Israel,who all.. for various reasons.. wanted to destroy Nasser,.. Eisenhour refuses to support the attack on Suez and the lies that were put about re Nasser,…and he also deplored the way the UK/France/Israel all wanted to destroy any hopes of negotiations re the Canal
In the end the US,by selling huge quantities of pounds and france,thus causing a”run” on the currencies…the US forced the attackers to stop ,and that puts the skids under Eden the UK PM,who lost office a year later
Eisenhour had a very poor opinion of the Israelis too ,being one US president unlike some recent ones,…not in the grip of the zionist lobby in the USA
A great read,on one of the major events of the 20th century
There is a curious local anecdote re the Suez Crisis too
In the House of Commons some Tories were very unhappy with Eden,one called Anthoiny Nutting resigned from Cabinet and later wrote a scathing book re Eden’s folly
Another was back-bencher Bill Yates,who had served in Military Intelligence in the M East during WW2
He know of the lies and distortsions that Eden had made ,and was anxious to reveal secret information on the UK atack in the Commons,but was unable to get the call
Eventually he raised a point of order and blurted out his information, which then made the UK media to seek him out,and the cat was out of the bag
Oddly,Yates later left the Commons and migrated to Australia,where he joined the Liberals and in 1975 won the seat of Holt from Labor,and held it until 1980
He later did a late M A Degree on the crisis and the later correspondence between Pres. Kennedy and Nasser,who survived at the attacks on him
Yates later lost his seat in 1980 and only died a few years ago in Wodonga..having written much on the Suez affair
Darn:
[Are you able to tell me why Fraudband apparently hasn’t been introduced yet. Is it that wrecker Abbott needs to get legislation through the parliament to do it? (and if so does does that mean Fraudband can be blocked in the Senate)?]
FTTN (“Fraudband”) requires a new contract with Telstra to be agreed, for access to the copper (the previous contract was essentially for access to the ducts and commitment to decommission the copper).
The Otto Abetz file from Wikiiipedia
________________
He was an art expert and worked with Ribbontrop the Nazi Foreign Minister to plunder and loot art works in Paris, of which he became Nazi Administrator
He was arrested in 1945 just after the wars’ end in Germany and went to jail for ten years
Some years after his release in 1954,he died in a car accident and some thought it mighht have been caused by some group seeking revenge on Abetz..this was never proved
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Abetz
Bemused, 500 gig is a lot as is $105 per month. What is your download speed?
CW good tip about the threat to leave. I have just signed a contract for two years with Telstra so will have to wait a while.
Your advice is good though. I have had cable ever since the put it through my street. I was on an old plan. I was getting 10 MIPS and 13 gig of download for $69. However at Christmas drinks with my neighbours, they told me they were paying half that for 200 gigs at about the same speed as me, but on ADSL.
I looked up the Telstra site and couldn’t see anything but bundled stuff, so off to the shop. After complaining, they suggested what I have now. I was happy to pay the extra $10 for ten times the speed and over 3 times the data allocation.
But to leave meant I would have to go to ADSL and the slow download speed again.
PeeBee@813
Don’t overlook the phone line and Australia wide phone calls included. I do make quite a lot of interstate calls and calls to mobiles.
It is probably time I had a look at the latest plans to see if there is something more appropriate.
I would go with Telstra HFC, except they are not upto date with the current industry regarding plans, I use more than 500GB.
CTari/Poroti and other
RE SUEZ CRISIS
I’ve only joined the fray but doses this mean the air/taxi fare is off.
Qanda tomorrow night
Joseph Stiglitz – Nobel Prize-winning Economist
Ross Garnaut – Distinguished Government Adviser
Judith Sloan – Businesswoman, Academic and Columnist
Christine Wong – Director of The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies
Fran on Insiders put to Erich, the known unknowns (my words)on the mysterious fate of the disappeared Tamils.
Saying that Malcolm Fraser had tweeted that it was ‘redolent of handing Jews to Nazis.’
Abetz visibly blanched. Which I guess is the reason for his article re his Nazi Uncle Otto. Which I reckon I would do, if the connection had the potential to besmirch me.
I do think (again) that Fran was insensitive and as I said earlier, naive.
I know a lot of German people. One of whom is my close friend. Born in Australia, of German parents of war. Socialists. Labor voters.
Who abhors any kind of Aryan supremacy ‘feels like/looks like.’ To the extent that she can hardly bear the sight of Nick Riewoldt. Which is really sad, in my opinion.
Interestingly, in his article, Abetz merely distanced himself from his Uncle Otto. He neither addressed, repudiated or rejected, as does my friend, a single or any aspect of Nazism.
Therein, a problem.
Upon which the contemplation of I will ponder. (in my yoda guise)
victoria:
No MPs even with parliament sitting this week?
[In the House of Commons some Tories were very unhappy with Eden, one called Anthoiny [sic] Nutting resigned from Cabinet and later wrote a scathing book re Eden’s folly.]
Very loose connection, but he was my god-mother’s husband. I often went to their house in London. I have a couple of his books (including the above-implied “No End Of A Lesson”), duly signed by him. I was sub-10 at the time, so did not appreciate him, nor his influence.
fess
Is only the senate sitting this week?
vic:
Reps has a day. But even if it were only the Senate it’s still odd.
fess
I think the reps are sitting Tuesday. I am actually more inclined to watch it tomorrow cos of Joseph Stiglitz
vic:
The Japanese PM is addressing parliament sometime during the week. Presumably Tuesday when all of parliament is sitting.
It’ll be interesting as typhoon Neoguri bears down on that country.
PeeBee.
Telstra know that a threat may be empty.
But they won’t risk it.
Even whatever early in your contract, if you see a better price on offer, threaten away.
I have done it. As I say, it works.
I was offered a deal, Adsl, years ago by telephone, Telstra. Dial up at that time. I knew all about Adsl.
It was a fantastic deal. I asked the contact person if I could refer a friend to her. Yes. I hung up (such were the vagaries and difficulties) phoned my friend saying that I wouldn’t explain but just say yes when Telstra phoned.
A decade maybe later, my friend is still on the same plan at the original cost. (I have moved house, otherwise I would be too)
Something like a bundle of about $59 a month. Cheap as chips. And they have increased her data allowance, to huge for what she uses.
vic:
Yep, Reps sitting Tuesday.
victoria@823
With the added attraction of watching him expose Sloan for what she is. 👿
Accidentally posted in the previous thread but the missus got a polling call Friday night. New polls incoming?
Deblonay
Warriors at Suez by Donald Neff is an excellent book. By the way he’s portrait of Menzies is not very flattering. He notes of Menzies “His choice of leader of the committee was the worst possible. It meant the [peace]mission would be an almost certain failure…”
Reps is being recalled solely for the Japanese PM.
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2014/06/24/house-of-reps-recalled-for-japan-pm-visit.html
With the added attraction of watching him expose Sloan for what she is. 👿
Delish, Bemused.
@Crikey/830
How much is this going to cost the tax payer?
Watch for Abbott to welcome the Japanese PM with a slagging for the previous government.
He can’t help himself
stevieboy
Latest poll
The #ReachTEL QLD State poll TPP LNP 51(-2) ALP 49(+2). For more details see.. https://www.reachtel.com.au/blog/7news-sunday-mail-queensland-the-state-were-in-2014-crimeandsafety … via @ReachTEL #qldpol #auspol
6:39 PM – 6 Jul 2014
Night all
Peebee.
Another little chapter on Telstra.
The offer to which I referred was contracted with me over the phone.
But nothing happened. Except for my friend, who in a different suburb was up and running. So I spoke to Telstra, and they said (once I understood what the hell that was about) that there were no more Adsl slots available on my local exchange.
I said, being a pretty smart cookie sometimes, we have a contract, Telstra.
There is a cable running past my property. You will do this.
On cable.
There is no cable in your street. They said. Bullshit, I said. I can see it as I speak. We have a contract. Deliver!
They folded. Same price, better speed. Great!
Organised the same thing for yet another person.
ADSL to Cable. Same price. Cool.
Zoidlord @ 832
About 14000 DSP lifetimes.
Probably missed a few noughts.
I believe Fraudband trials are happening but have run into technical problems. Copper and power. Just the things everyone who knew anything said would be problems.
Roger Miller.
My BOI is with Telstra.
Still. After a zillion years.
He told me in March that he was supervising, I guess, delivery of FTTP to the premise in a particular SA area. I won’t specify.
I asked about fraudband and copper. Yep, he had been asked about that. Know all about it. Old hand. Can be done though. Snorts with laughter.
Pay me, he says. Fine with me. Whatever.
The first computer I bought was from a company named EISA. It came with a 300mg celeron processor. It had no graphic possessor and it ran Windows 95. It was a was a quantum leap from the DOS base we all thought was pretty good at that time. Having said that I had to learn DOS (Disk operating system) backwards and forwards because that was what 95 was based on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS
I’m guessing the one my missus was called about will be released soon. We’re Victorians.
Crikey
The Fraser tweet about Jews and Nazis you misquoted …….. your quote is incomplete.
You left out the final 2 words of Malcolm’s phrase and they make a huge difference to the meaning viz “in 1930” ie before the Nazis were on the record (by their actions) as genocidists.
The first computer I bought was from a company named EISA.
One of the directors was Malcolm Turnbull.
Damn, Psyclaw.
I took it straight from Fran Kelly’s mouth on Insiders. I don’t think she said in quoting Fraser ‘in 1930’. May be wrong.
But does that nuance matter? In terms of impact?
Just deleted the program.
Peppy 7 re Suez
_______
I have a memory …I can’t recall from where…that Nasser disapproved of Menzies blustering and rather over-bearing,imperialist manner.
Menzies clearly saw Nasser as a upstart arab,defying Mother England(as would Tony Abbott BTW)
Nasser wrote scathingly of Menzies I understand…but Menzies was…as one would expect..the UK’s Puppet
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 3m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly 2 Party Preferred: L/NP 47 (-1) ALP 53 (+1) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 2m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Primary Votes: L/NP 37 (-3) ALP 36 (0) GRN 12 (0) Others 15 (+3) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Abbott: Approve 33 (-5) Disapprove 58 (+9) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Shorten: Approve 36 (+1) Disapprove 42 (+3) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Preferred PM: Abbott 37 (-4) Shorten 41 (+5) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 40s
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Federal 2PP in NSW: L/NP 46 (-1) ALP 54 (+1) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Federal 2PP in VIC: L/NP 42 (-1) ALP 58 (+1) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 54s
#Newspoll Apr-Jun Quarterly Federal 2PP in QLD: L/NP 50 (-1) ALP 50 (+1) #auspol